That's in addition to the bigger-picture reform I have stated numerous times is overdue, the application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to the federal, state, and local governments. Also, we all deserve annual or other periodic balance sheets, income statements, accounting and explanations to be supplied for currently unfunded future liabilities by all these governments, and so on.

An “annual report” with real figures in addition to any glitz, like those of businesses, rather than dumbed-down political press-and-public fluff, is needed.

Naturally, the dinosaur Democrats (liberals) here whine and wail and moan about government “losses” and what it means for “the people,” even though Michigan creates a hostile environment toward businesses, jobs, and people (who aren't in government or in favored unions).

It's pretty bad when fast food restaurants and Hooters on the largest metro area arterials (designated as state highways) close.

And that's before the bigger problems next year, and what may happen in the years after that.

I believe most states, and even at the federal level, need much better auditing system of where our tax dollars are going.

TABOR limits the increase in revenue to the increase in population plus inflation measured over the last year. There are two problems with this.

There is no allowance for increases as a result of changes in population demographics. The health insurance industry has been very successful at driving up the cost of health care on one hand and of pushing off the sick onto the government. This has resulted in a large increase in Medicaid costs, far larger than the increase in the overall population. Another example is the increase in school age children called the mini-baby boom which called for increases in education budgets greater than the overall population increase. Or the larg, out of proportation increase in prison population is another example.

The other major problem is the ratcheting down effect. Since the look back for allowable increases is only one year if that year was a recession year you build in a permanent deficit in revenue. The first year after a recession you are forced to rebate the increased revenue which actually was just the legal amount collected before the recession. Revenue goes down as a percentage of the economy and cannot be recovered even in an economic boom.

The only state that enacted TABOR was Colorado in 1992 (about). They have reformed it over the years to the point that it is now largely ineffective because it created so many problems and truly hurt the state.

And regarding less government, red state Georgia wants more government concerning transportation since it's bad in Metro Atlanta and rural Georgia hasn't had any transportation “love” in years (unpaved roads, etc). So I think that more/less government is all about what a need is in a particular area.